Skype with Outlook.com integration first showed up on video in March last year. However, at its initial offering, only UK users could use app’s video and voice calls and messaging. Finally, Microsoft has now made it generally available to all users.
Skype for Outlook.com lets you connect with your Skype friends without leaving your Outlook.com inbox and represents a continuing trend out of Microsoft to fully integrate its services. Once a user links their Outlook.com account with Skype, they are prompted to install a plugin which enables the integration.
The latest version of the plugin supports HD calling over most major browsers. Users are required to have “compatible HD displays, web cams, messaging clients, and broadband internet.” Among the various bug fixes, Skype has also addressed an issue with calls continuing to ring after pick-up when users had the Outlook.com plugin and Skype on their desktop running at the same time.
Now that Skype has been integrated with Outlook.com, it will be interesting to see where it takes its other calling service as well.